Spinning and twister ring leveling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A ring rail having convex arcuate surfaces along its top and bottom in the area of support of a ring and ring holder assembly is disclosed in combination with a top and a bottom adjusting members having respectively a planar top and a convex arcuate bottom and a convex arcuate top and a planar bottom for joining a spinning or twister ring and ring holder assembly thereto so that it may be rotatively adjusted into the horizontal around the axis of the ring rail and fixed thereat. While prior art apparatus and methods for such levelling required from ten to fifteen minutes per assembly, use of the present apparatus and method provide for horizontal plumbing within ten to fifteen seconds.

United States Patent Brooks Oct. 29, 1974 [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Saco-Lowell Corporation,

Greenville, SC.

221 Filed: Sept. 10, 1973 2] Appl. No.: 395,798

Frank E. Brooks, Seneca, SC.

[52] US. Cl 57/122, 57/75, 57/137 [51] Int. Cl D01h 7/64 [58] Field of Search 57/1 R, 34 R, 75, 119,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,774,666 9/1930 Rabert 57/136 X 2,758,439 8/1956 Bradshaw 57/136 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 625,567 9/1961 Italy 57/122 Primary Examiner--Donald E. Watkins Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald H. Feldman 5 7 ABSTRACT A ring rail having convex arcuate surfaces along its top and bottom in the area of support of a ring and ring holder assembly is disclosed in combination with a top and a bottom adjusting members having respectively a planar top and a convex arcuate bottom and a convex arcuate top and a planar bottom for joining a spinning or twister ring and ring holder assembly thereto so that it may be rotatively adjusted into the horizontal around the axis of the ring rail and fixed thereat. While prior art apparatus and methods for such levelling required from ten to fifteen minutes per assembly, use of the present apparatus and method provide for horizontal plumbing within ten to fifteen seconds.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SPINNING AND TWISTER RING LEVELING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved ring rail used to support ring and ring holder assemblies on a textile" yarn processing machine, such as a spinning frame or a twister, which rail makes simple the accurate and rapid plumbing of said assemblies concentric to their associated spindle assemblies and horizontal, and to a method for said levelling.

The art has long recognized the need to accurately and rapidly level such assemblies in order that yarn of high quality be produced with but a minimum of processing breaks in the yarn during spinning or twisting. Prior art efforts, to the advent of this invention, involved attempts to level the assemblies horizontal despite twists in the square or rectangular cross-sectioned elongate ring rails which, from length to length therealong, brought their planar surfaces out of the horizontal by as much as plus or minus two degrees therefrom; also, due to manufacturing tolerances, the abutting planar surfaces of the ring holders, which are joined to the otherwise planar surfaces of the ring rail, have been found to be out of horizontal planarity by certain amounts, which together withtwists in the ring rail have required adjustments of as much as plus or minus five degrees in order to level the assemblies horizontal. Such adjustments were made through the use of adjusting screws and/or shims to tilt the holders individually each an appropriate amount. Experience has shown that such a procedure using ring rails of the prior art often expended from to minutes with each holder assembly when great care was taken. When one considers that a typical spinning framemay have up to 400 assemblies and a typical twister mayhave up to 100 assemblies to be levelled and that a single textile mill may have dozens of such machines, the time required to level such assemblies can involve very high costs. For example, in a mill having 10 twisters with 100 assemblies each and spinning frames with 300 assemblies each, for a total of seven thousand assemblies, wherein using prior art methods and ring rails it requires about 10 minutes to level each assembly, a total time of about 1,167 man hours is required, almost /2 a man-year. Beyond this, the levelling of an assembly horizontal is a tedious and pains taking job requiring extreme care for even the most minor adjustments in order to attain the holder and ring in an exact horizontal disposition.

Thus it is to the assauge of the foregoing problems that the present invention is directed, such being a primary object thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ring rail of improved design which shall make the task of the levelling of a ring and ring holder assembly horizontal simple, requiring little effort and an expenditure of time which is less than one-tenth of that required previously.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for such levelling which is simple, requires little effort and very little time.

These and further desirable objects of the invention shall become apparent from or are inherent in the descriptions and explanations of the nature and operation of this invention which follow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The objects of the invention are achieved by employing a ring rail designed to permit rotation of the ring and ring holder assembly about the rail axis until the assembly is plumbed exactly in a horizontal disposition and is concentrically positioned relative the vertical axis of its associated spindle assembly. Thus, the invention provides an improved ring rail containing arcuate surfaces and associated complementary arcuate members, which latter join the assembly to the rail and permit its rotation thereabout and fixing in place once horizontal disposition is attained, and provides an improved process for levelling by such rotation. Through the use of this improved rail and its associated members, by using the process of this invention, it has been observed that the average time expended in such levelling is about ten to fifteen seconds per assembly.

THE DRAWINGS A fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention may be had through the explanations of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1, in side elevation partially in section, shows a ring rail and its associated adjusting members supporting a ring and ring holder horizontally and concentric to an associated spindle assembly of a twister;

FIG. 2, in plan view taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, shows the assembly latterly positional the ring rail for ring concentricity with the spindle assembly; and

FIG. 3, is a partial front elevational view of the elements of FIGS. 1 and 2.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the figures, the yarn winding processing station, generally designated 10, of an otherwise conventional yarn twister machine is supported on said machine by vertically disposed support bars 12 and Samson stand bars 14, one each of which is shown, which bars 14 support a spindle rail 16 running longitudinal the length of said machine in a manner not shown; extending outwardly said machine from spindle rail 16 is a bumper guard protective rail 17 and inwardly therefrom a cover plate 15 which are joined thereto. Rail 16 supports a vertically disposed spindle assembly, generally designated 18, having an upstanding spindle blade 20 for supporting and rotating a package of twisted yarn 22 (shown in phantom lines thereon).

Supported above spindle rail 16 for vertical reciprocation along support rods 12 is the ring rail assembly of the invention, generally designated 24. It comprises an elongate ring rail 26 extending longitudinal the machine and substantially parallel to spindle rail 16, and bearing thereon an upper arcuate surface 28 and a lower arcuate surface 30 in the area of support of the ring and ring holder assembly. Although, in the embodiment shown, rail 26 is of substantially rectangular cross-section with upper and lower convex protuberances which form said arcuate surfaces here required, and said protuberances and their arcuate surfaces being integral wtih the rectangular portion of rail 26, one may employ a rail which has a circular cross section as shall later be explained, or a rail of substantially square or rectangualr cross-section as in the prior art with the aforesaid protuberances being separate pieces fixed to the top and bottom portions of the rail in the areas of support for the ring and bolder assemblies. Such upper and lower arcuate portions, indeed, may extend the entire length of the rail or be present only in the areas of support for the holders. The arcuate surfaces may be or describe portions or longitudinal sections of a right circular cylinder with its axis coincident with the central axis of the rail; alternately, because angular adjustments in certain instances may be very small in the attainment of horizontal levelling of the ring and holder assembly, for those instances it is possible to employ protuberances which have crosssectional elliptical arcuities being symetrically disposed about the axis of the ring rail. Generally, such arcuities must be convex. Also, according to the invention, where manufacturing exergencies make it desirable, the ring rail may be in the form of a cylindrical rod the top and bottom circular cross-sectional portions of which may be considered to be the here required arcuities.

Cooperating with arcuate surfaces 28 and 30 of rail 26 are adjusting members 32, having a concave surface 34 of complementary arcuity to surface 28, and 36, having a concave surface 38 of complementary arcuity to surface 30, such that members 32 and 36 may be rotated about surfaces 28 and 30, the chordal distances described by surfaces 34 and 38 being less than the chordal distances described by surfaces 28 and 30 to permit such rotation as shall later be described. In order to join rail 26 and adjusting members 32 and 32 thereabove and 36 and 36 therebelow (see FIGS. 2 and 3 with regard to members 32 and 36), rail 26 and said members are formed with channels 40 therethrough, each channel 40 having a portion through rail 26 which has an elongate width so as to permit members 32 and 36 and 32' and 36 to be rotated about the axis of rail 26 when such members are joined to rail 26 by means of joining and fixing bolts 42 and 42 passing through channels 40 and being secured beneath members 36 and 36' by means of a joining and fixing threaded plate 44, the latter as best shown in FIG. 3. In place of plate 44 locking nuts may be used.

Rail 26 is secured, in turn, to the twister machine by means of a conventional support and traverse means therefor, generally designated 46, which is interconnected to the drive mechanism (not shown) of the twister for vertical reciprocation of rail 26 adjacent and along vertical support rod 12 by means of suspender tapes 52. In particular, rail 26 may be secured to means 46 by bolts 48 and 48 passing through channels perpendicular to the rail axis and locking nuts 50.

Adjusting members 32 and 36 are shown, respectively, to have upper and lower planar surfaces which are needed to permit facile abutments of member 32 with the underlying surface of the head of bolt 40 and of member 36 with the upper surface of the ring holder 54 which bears the ring 56, such bolt head and holder surfaces being planar,

OPERATION OF THE INVENTION In the process of levelling ring holder 54 and ring 56 horizontal and concentric to the axis of spindle blade 20, as in the prior art one would set a bubble-type level or similar device on a planar top surface of holder 54, with holder 54 held as shown in FIG. I. Bolts 42 and 42' would be loosened sufficient to permit movement of holder 54 laterally, which is to say toward or away from, support rod 12 by means of the slots 58 and 58 (FIG. 2), and for rotation of holder 54, ring 56, members 32 and 36, bolts 42 and 42 and plate 44 around the axis of rail 26. Holder 54 would be moved toward or away from support rod 12 until ring 56 was substantially concentric with regard to the axis of spindle blade 20. At that position, holder 54 and with it ring 56, members 32 and 36, bolts 42 and 42' and plate 44 would be rotated around the axis of rail 26 until the bubble level indicated that holder 54 and ring 56 were exactly horizontal.

Having thus described the principle and operation of the means and method of this invention together with a preferred embodiment thereof, one knowledgeable in the art may immediately think of variations in the contours of constructional elements of the apparatus and in the hereinbefore described process steps which may be used to achieve the objects of the invention and fall within the purview of its definitions as now claimed.

I claim:

1. In a textile yarn processing machine having a spindle assembly mounted thereon for the winding of yarn about a vertical axis, a vertically reciprocatory ring rail and a ring holder, ring assembly supported by said ring rail for movement therewith concentric to said axis, the improvement comprising:

a ring rail having upper and lower convex arcuate surfaces in the area of said support; upper and lower adjusting members respectively having lower and upper concave surfaces of complementary arcuity to said arcuate surfaces of said ring rail and upper and lower planar surfaces; and

joining and fixing means for adjustably joining said adjusting members to said ring rail at a desired position about the longitudinal axis of said rail, for fixing said members thereat, and for joining and fixing said ring holder to said members therat.

2. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces are portions of a cylinder the axis of which is coincident with the longitudinal axis of said rail.

3. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail are integral with said rail.

4. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail have a chordal distance greater than the chordal distance of said complementary arcuities of said adjusting member surfaces.

5. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail have a common center on said longitudinal axis thereof.

6. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said adjusting members have a common center on said longitudinal axis of said rail. 

1. In a textile yarn processing machine having a spindle assembly mounted thereon for the winding of yarn about a vertical axis, a vertically reciprocatory ring rail and a ring holder, ring assembly supported by said ring rail for movement therewith concentric to said axis, the improvement comprising: a ring rail having upper and lower convex arcuate surfaces in the area of said support; upper and lower adjusting members respectively having lower and upper concave surfaces of complementary arcuity to said arcuate surfaces of said ring rail and upper and lower planar surfaces; and joining and fixing means for adjustably joining said adjusting members to said ring rail at a desired position about the longitudinal axis of said rail, for fixing said members thereat, and for joining and fixing said ring holder to said members therat.
 2. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces are portions of a cylinder the axis of which is coincident with the longitudinal axis of said rail.
 3. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail are integral with said rail.
 4. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail have a chordal distance greater than the chordal distance of said complementary arcuities of said adjusting member surfaces.
 5. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said rail have a common center on said longitudinal axis thereof.
 6. The improvement as in claim 1, wherein said arcuate surfaces of said adjusting members have a common center on said longitudinal axis of said rail. 